| Antioch | community in S Hoke County on Raft Swamp. |
| Antioch Township | S Hoke County. |
| Antioch Township | E Wilkes County. |
| Antler | community in central Moore County served by post office, 1891-1907. |
| Antone | See Concord. |
| Apalachia Lake | NW Cherokee County on Hiwassee River at the Tennessee state line. Formed by Tennessee Valley Authority dam completed in 1943. Covers 1,123 acres, max. depth 120 ft., approx. 10 mi. long. Spelling with single p contrary to accepted manner. |
| Apex | town in W Wake County on the head of Beaver Creek. Inc. 1873. Named because it was supposed to be the highest point on the railroad between Richmond, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla. When first settled, the area was an important producer of turpentine and rosin. The town now produces apparel, plywood, and chemicals. |
| Appalachian Creek | rises in NW Rutherford County and flows NE into Broad River. |
| Appalachian Mountains | include all of the E mountains of the United States from Alabama to northern Maine. The name was given by Spaniards under Hernando De Soto in 1539 for the Apalachee Indians, whose name meant "people on the other side" (presumably of a river). In North Carolina the Blue Ridge, Black Mountains, and Great Smoky Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains. At one time, both Appalachian and Allegheny were names applied to the range from Georgia to New York, but a study by Arnold Guyot, "On the Appalachian Mountain System," published in 1861, firmly established the present name. See also Mountain Region. |
| Appalachian Trail | a marked footpath extending approx. 2,050 mi. from Maine to Georgia. In North Carolina approx. 70 of the 200 mi. within the state cross the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains. The highest point on the trail is Clingmans Dome, with an alt. of 6,642 ft. Proposed in 1921 and completed in 1937, it has been described as the longest marked footpath in the world. |